Decoration means

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a decoration and a method of making such decoration comprising a plurality of separate, artificial plant parts. The method is characterized by overlappingly connecting separate, juxtaposed first plant parts at a distance from a front edge of the respective plant part, and of overlappingly connecting a plurality of separate, mutually overlapping second plant parts to said first plant parts. As a result, an area of each of said first plant parts facing away from the front edge is covered, like the connection, by the overlapping portion of each of the second plant parts. The decoration is intended for use in the making of a wreath.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a decoration which can be usedespecially in the florist trade, and to a method of making such adecoration.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

A common task of florists is to make wreaths for use in connection withfunerals or cremations. Such a wreath substantially consists of twoparts, namely a wreath body and a decoration, such as flowers, ribbonsetc, fixed to the wreath body. Today, ready-made wreath bodies areavailable, which may consist of straw held in place by a plasticsheeting wrapped around the wreath body. Other types of wreath bodies,such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,526,992 or EP-A1-0,241,341,are previously known. Most often, they consist of a porous foam materialwhich in some cases is supported by a waterproof backing (cf.GB-A-1,544,630). Naturally, the technical development in respect ofwreath bodies and wreath body materials facilitates the task of theflorist when making wreaths. Thus, the florist need not waste any timeon shaping the wreath body, provided the customer is content with thewreath sizes available. This of course has a favourable effect on theend price of the wreath.

The wreath body must be decked with some type of decoration, such asflowers, leaves, ribbons etc. No actual development has taken place inthis respect, save that use is now made of leaves of plastic or cloth,or silk, which are easier to handle and do not wither. That no technicaldevelopment has in principle occurred largely depends on the fact thatthe very decoration of the wreath body is considered dependent to alarge extent on the craftsmanship of the florist, excluding alltechnical development. Although the craftsmanship of the florist is ofdecisive importance for the final appearance of the wreath, there arecertain ways of facilitating the florist's work when making wreaths.

Thus, from DE-B-27,50,670 it is previously known to fix to a wreath bodya block of flower foam which is soaked with water and used for fixingand continuously watering flowers on the wreath. However, before theflorist gets that far, the wreath body must be provided with a suitablebasic decoration, such as natural or artificial plant leaves. These arefixed to the wreath body by means of a steel wire which is wound aroundthe wreath, whereby the leaves will be squeezed between the steel wireand the wreath body. A plurality of plant leaves are fixed to the wreathbody for each turn of the winding, so that these leaves will cover thewreath body, and the following leaves must cover the preceding turn ofthe steel wire and the wreath body. After this operation, flowers,ribbons and the like can be attached to the wreath body foraccomplishing the wreath.

Attaching the separate plant parts is a very time-consuming and, thus,costly operation. Apart from this, there is a substantial risk thatthese separate plant parts attached with steel wire may be displaced ortorn loose during transportation of the wreath from the florist to e.g.a church ceremony, which, if things come to the worst, may mean thatboth the steel wire and the wreath body become visible, thus ruining theaesthetical appearance of the whole wreath.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One object of the present invention therefore is to provide a decorationwhere there is no risk that the separate plant parts may be displaced ortorn loose.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a decoration withwhich different-sized wreath bodies can be decorated in a cost-effectiveway.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a method of makingsuch a decoration.

These and other objects are achieved by means of a method of making adecoration comprising a plurality of separate, artificial plant parts,which method is characterised by the steps of overlappingly connectingseparate, juxtaposed first plant parts at a distance from a front edgeof the respective plant part, and of overlappingly connecting aplurality of separate, mutually overlapping second plant parts to saidfirst plant parts, such that both an area of each of said first plantparts facing away from said front edge, and said connection are coveredby the overlapping portion of each of said second plant parts.

To achieve these objects and to carry out the method of the invention, adecoration is further provided which comprises a plurality of separate,artificial plant parts, which decoration is characterised by first meansprovided at a distance from a front edge of the respective plant partfor overlappingly connecting separate, juxtaposed first plant parts, andsecond means for overlappingly connecting a plurality of separate,mutually overlapping second plant parts to said first plant parts, suchthat both an area of each of said first plant parts facing away fromsaid front edge, and said first means are covered by the overlappingportion of each of said second plant parts.

Other preferred embodiments are recited in the subclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The attached drawing illustrates one embodiment of a decorationaccording to the invention to be fixed to a wreath body, as will bedescribed in more detail hereinbelow.

FIG. 1 shows an inventive working operation for joining togetherseparate, artificial plant parts.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a 1/4 of a circular-arc-shaped decoration according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 shows a wreath body immediately before applying the inventivedecoration shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 shows a lobated strip where the lobes resemble a plant part.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a working method according to the invention forjoining together separate, artificial plant parts 12, 14 so as to form adecoration which can be used in the making of wreaths. In thisillustrative embodiment, separate, juxtaposed first plant parts 12 aresewn together forming a seam (18a) at a distance from a front edge 16 ofthe respective plant part, such that adjacent plant parts will overlapeach other. This yields a row of interconnected, mutually overlappingfirst plant parts 12. Similarly, there is provided a row of mutuallyoverlapping second plant parts 14 sewn together forming a seam (18b).

In the following phase of operation, the row of the second plant parts14 is applied on the row of the first plant parts 12 at a distance fromthe front edge 16 of the respective first plant parts 12, such that anoverlapping portion 14a of the respective second plant parts 14 willcover the seam 18a and the end of the first plant parts 12 facing awayfrom the front edge 16 thereof. The row of the second plant parts 14 isthereafter sewn forming a seam (20) to the row of the first plant parts12. When a plurality of such rows have been fixed to each other in thismanner, a "mat" 26 of interconnected plant parts is obtained without anyvisible joints (in this case, seams 18a, 18b, 20), where each separateplant part is anchored to prevent any displacement and/or extractionthereof, thus obviating the risk that the connection between differentseparate plant parts or the wreath body becomes visible after this "mat"26 has been applied to the wreath body.

If, when joining together the different rows, one proceeds alongcircular arcs corresponding, respectively, to the inner and the outerperiphery of the wreath body, an arcuate "mat" is thus obtained, itbeing preferred to make a 1/4 circular-arc-shaped "mat" 26 (see FIG. 3).

FIG. 4 shows a wreath body 22 immediately before applying a 1/4circular-arc-shaped "mat" 26 of separate, artificial interconnectedplant parts, which mat 26, depending on the material of the wreath body,is glued, riveted or fixed in any other suitable manner to the wreathbody 22.

Thus, the wreath body can be completely covered with a basic decorationwhich here consists of four separate pieces of decoration. It will beappreciated that 1/3 circular-arc-shaped mats 26 may also be used, likecompletely circular-arc-shaped mats 26 of separate, artificial plantparts.

Also, it is possible to apply the separate, artificial first and secondplant parts to a carrier, for instance a thin woven fabric, which wouldfacilitate the joining together of the separate plant parts and make iteasier to follow the above-mentioned circular arc. Also, the mat or mats26 would become less sensitive to tensile forces and, hence, moreresistant.

Although the connection of the different plant parts in the embodimentof the present invention described above consists of sewn seams, a manskilled in the art will realize that there are other suitable means forfastening and joining the separate, artificial first and second plantparts to each other, such as glue, rivets etc.

It has thus been shown that a decoration made in the manner describedabove will provide a basic decoration, e.g. for a wreath body, which issafely anchored against displacement and/or extraction, and that basicdecorating can be done more rapidly and, hence, in a more cost-effectiveway. Thus, the florist may concentrate on what is essential for thefinal appearance of the wreath, that is the choice and arrangement offlowers, ribbons etc.

It is of course obvious to a man skilled in the art that the detailimplementation of the inventive method and the detail design of theinventive decoration may be varied or modified. Thus, the separateleaves may be replaced by lobated strips 24, as shown in FIG. 5, whichshould give the impression of being composed of individual plant partsand which should then be overlappingly connected to each other asdescribed above. Of course, it is also possible to use other artificialplant parts, and the method of joining them together may be carried outin other suitable ways, giving the same technical effect. It thereforeis understood that the accompanying claims should be considered tocomprise all changes and modifications falling within the scope of theinventive concept.

I claim:
 1. A wreath body cover mat having a plurality of artificialplant parts, said wreath body cover mat comprisinga plurality ofelongated strips, each strip having lobes along at least one of itslongitudinal edges representing said artificial plant parts, said stripssuccessively overlapping each other such that the lobes of one stripcover an area of an overlapped strip facing away from the lobes of saidoverlapped strip, each successive pair of strips being fastened to eachother along a fastening line extending along the full length of thestrips, said fastening line being covered by the lobes of the nextsuccessive strip, whereby a wreath body cover mat of a desired shape maybe formed.
 2. A wreath body cover mat as claimed in claim 1, whereinsuccessive fastening lines are diverging, whereby said wreath body covermat is arcuate.
 3. A wreath body cover mat as claimed in claim 2,wherein the two most remote fastening lines diverge approximately 120°.4. A wreath body cover mat as claimed in claim 2, wherein the two mostremote fastening lines diverge approximately 90°.
 5. A wreath body covermat as claimed in claim 1, wherein successive fastening lines areparallel.
 6. A wreath body cover mat as claimed in claim 1, wherein eachelongated strip comprises a plurality of separate artificial plant partssuccessively overlapping each other and being fastened to each otheralong lines extending along said fastening lines for fastening saidelongated strips to each other.
 7. A wreath body cover mat as claimed inclaim 1, wherein said successive strips are glued to each other.
 8. Awreath piece comprising a body and a plurality of artificial plant partscovering a front side of said body, wherein said plurality of artificialplant parts forms at least one wreath body cover mat comprisingaplurality of elongated strips, each strip having lobes along at leastone of its longitudinal edges representing said artificial plant parts,said strips successively overlapping each other such that the lobes ofone strip cover an area of an overlapped strip facing away from thelobes of said overlapped strip, each successive pair of strips beingfastened to each other along a fastening line extending along the fulllength of the strips, said fastening line being covered by the lobes ofthe next successive strip, whereby said wreath body cover mat has ashape corresponding to at least a part of the front side of said body.9. A wreath piece as claimed in claim 8, wherein said body is a wreathbody.
 10. A wreath piece as claimed in claim 9, wherein said wreath bodyis covered by three wreath body cover mats.